Spies too scared: Democrats

July 14 2003By Lauren Ahwan

Officers within Australian intelligence agencies were too scared to pass on information to the Prime Minister, the Australian Democrats claimed yesterday.

Democrats foreign affairs spokeswoman Natasha Stott Despoja called on Prime Minister John Howard to apologise for not acting on information that the claims that Iraq had sought to import uranium from Africa were dubious. She said questions also needed to be asked why the intelligence agencies did not tell Mr Howard of their concerns.

Mr Howard used the claim that Iraq was trying to import uranium from Niger in a speech to Parliament in February to justify war against Iraq.

Three Government agencies have revealed they were aware before Mr Howard's speech that a key piece of evidence supporting the claims about Iraq had been discredited, but did not tell him. Senator Stott Despoja said the revelation showed no action had been taken since the child overboard affair.

"You have to wonder about the culture of our public service and the culture of our intelligence agencies particularly," Senator Stott Despoja said. "It beggars belief that people weren't on the phone immediately to the Prime Minister to clear up any concern or any misunderstanding or any false information." ");document.write("

Senator Stott Despoja said Mr Howard's "credibility is in crisis" but stopped short of calling for his resignation. "I would prefer a prime minister that would come clean with the Australian people," she said.